Cysteamine and pantethine effects on passive avoidance behavior, shuttle box learning, open-field activity, striatal...

The effects of cysteamine and pantethine were compared on different behavioral tests and neurochemical parameters in rats. Cysteamine, administered in high dose (3.90 mM/kg s.c.), decreased the locomotor and rearing activities of rats, while it slightly but not significantly increased the avoidance latency in a passive avoidance test. Pantethine, 24 hr after its administration, significantly increased the dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid (DOPAC) levels in the striatum. Cysteamine slightly reduced the DOPAC level without influencing the catecholamine levels in this brain area. The striatal somatostatin concentration was reduced 24 hr after the administration of cysteamine, while pantethine did not influence it. After repeated daily injections of pantethine, the drug facilitated the shuttle box learning process and increased the intertrial and open-field activities of the animals. Cysteamine only slightly increased the locomotion and rearing and did not influence the shuttle box learning. Both pantethine and cysteamine slowed the rate of the "body weight increase" of the animals when compared to a saline-treated group. These findings suggest that the locomotor activation induced by pantethine 24 hr after its administration plays an important role in its behavioral effects. It might be that the striatal dopaminergic transmission, modified by administration of pantethine, plays some role in the higher locomotor activity induced by the substance.